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First-of-its-kind Training Facility Helps Put Teeth in War on Drugs
By: Kathy Sweeney
GRAVES COUNTY, Ky. - As more and more Heartland departments are finding out, a good cop often comes with four legs and a badge. That's why a group of local officers helped start a first-of-its-kind training facility. It's called NARC K-9, and it's located at the Graves-Marshall county line about eight miles east of Mayfield.
The trainers teach everything from obedience to apprehension and the specialized field of drug detection. One of the founders says the 20 acre property is ideal for their operation, which works with local departments as well as agencies across the country. "This state gives up the ability to pull from the north, south, east, and west and is really accessible, not to talk about the natural setting and the natural things it allows us to be able to do here," said NARC K-9 trains all dogs for the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force. The Fulton County Sheriff's Department just joined the force, and will get its first dog in about a month.
Publication: Heartland News
Publication Date: 8/18/08
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 Hunter's law enforcement buddies agree: when it comes to detecting narcotics, he is the best. "They would be like, 'That's an awesome dog.' I'd say, 'Yeah, he's 80 percent blind.' Their mouths would just drop open," said Tye Jackson, a detective with the Calloway County Sheriff's Department and the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force.
Trainer Morgan Struble of Sedalia bought the black Labrador retriever and two littermates from a breeder in Georgia last year. "The two sisters had great vision," Struble said. "They were great dogs. Hunter was the best of the three, though. I actually didn't know he had any vision problems until a few months before we sold him. He just didn't show any signs of it. I thought he was just being a clutzy, dumb lab puppy."
From the beginning, Hunter showed unusual enthusiasm for sniffing out his surroundings. "I would try hiding from him," Struble said. "He would find me using smell."
He quickly learned how to detect the scent of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. Whether it is behind a fake wall or stuffed in a car's glove compartment, nothing fools him. The minute he smells drugs, Hunter indicates it by sitting or lying down. When told to "show me," he unfailingly points out the dope with his nose.
Struble and Jackson noticed he would never get tired or distracted once he had made a find. "You could go watch a movie and come back, and he'd still be sitting there," Jackson said.
Then one night Hunter walked right into Struble's legs. Thinking something might be wrong, Struble took him to Bluegrass Animal Health in Mayfield. "From my little test I think there are vision problems," Struble remembers the veterinarian saying. "I can't tell how bad it is or what's causing it. You need to go to a specialist." The specialist said Hunter was 75 to 80 percent blind in both eyes. "He said it could have been from birth," Struble said.
Struble and Jackson both feared Hunter's career was over before it got started. "He was already finding the dope and doing awesome, doing better than his sisters were," Struble said. "That dog wanted to work," Jackson said. "It would have just been a shame not to let him do that. That's when he's happiest."
But there was no way Hunter could work for the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force. Detectives work in multiple counties across western Kentucky, and Hunter would always be in new places and potentially dangerous circumstances. Then one day Struble was in Cairo, Ill., and ran into Alexander County Sheriff David Barkett. The sheriff's department had been applying for grants and trying to save money for a year to buy a drug dog but could not afford the estimated $12,000 for a dog and training. Struble asked if he wanted one for free.
Alexander County Deputy Sheriff David Dover admits he was skeptical after learning of the dog's availability last spring. "But after seeing the dog and watching him work, the dog is simply amazing," Dover said.
It was no surprise to Jackson, who couldn't help but boast a little about Hunter's superhero-like abilities. "Man, that dog will have a cape on his back, jumping from building to building because he's so good," he said.
Dover decided to take Hunter home with him that day. So far Dover and Hunter have been spending their time training together and strengthening their bond as Dover works the midnight shift. "Hunter goes everywhere with me," he said. And Hunter has a new family, too. Dover has four sons: a 7-year-old, a 5-year-old and twin 2-year-olds. To them, Hunter is a pet.
He's still showing off his abilities, too. Even though he's just 16 months old.Hunter has already made his first find on the job. "We had gotten a car stopped that was cutting donuts," Dover said. "I walked him around it, and he ended up finding 2.5 grams of cannabis. It was in the center console. He smelled it on the vehicle. The guy ended up getting arrested, and the vehicle got towed." For the handicapped dog whom nobody wanted, it was all in a day's work.
Publication: Paducah Sun
Publication Date: 6/30/08
Pub Page: A1
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